Leaky roofs and rain don’t mix

Brittany Granville

The recent rainfall that swamped Northern Kentucky University caused leakage in multiple buildings across campus. Founders Hall, Landrum and Steely Library have leaky roofs because of their design. Griffin Hall is also experiencing leaks, but from a faulty drain installation.

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Thanks to the wonderful natural phenomenon known as “rain” and the fact that many structures on Northern Kentucky University’s campus have flat roofing, students should be on the lookout for falling water, even while indoors.

Students who have classes in Founder’s Hall, Landrum, Steely Library and even the recently built Griffin Hall have reportedly experienced leakage.
“These buildings are 20, 25 or 30 years old, so we are always actively searching for and correcting leaks,” said NKU facilities manager Larry Blake. “The thing is, that we can find and stop one leak in one area; and if it rains hard the next day, then we may find a brand new one that opened up right next to it that needs to be fixed.”

Griffin Hall was an exception to the campus leak trends, as the cause of the leak in the atrium was a faulty drain installation, not a hole in the roof. The drain job was still under warranty and has, therefore, been financially covered and resolved by the original contractors, Turner Construction.
“Anything new is going to have some glitches,” Blake said. “But that’s fixed now, and [Griffin Hall] isn’t expected to have any of the same problems the other older facilities have.”

According to the facilities management office, $400,000 was funded for repairs to facilities last year, and Blake said he expects that figure to stay roughly the same for the coming year.

Blake assures that NKU’s maintenance team is working on locating and correcting these problems as quickly as they can. But he also suggests that if students find or experience any leaks that they should alert the facilities management office so that they may hasten the repair process.